Christmas from A to Z

IT'S THAT TIME again! is a common lament as Christmas approaches. For many, the holiday has become a burden as they struggle by putting together an endless shopping list, non-stop baking, writing and addressing hundreds of cards, hanging lights and shopping until they drop from exhaustion. Here is an A to Z list of ways to have Christmas be a blessing rather than a burden. 
Audit - Conduct an audit of your past Christmas habits. Ask yourself what needs to be changed in order for the holiday to be meaningful. Let the words of the prophet Micah become your audit prayer What does the Lord require? (Micah 6:8, New King James Version)
Back. Go back to the future. Review times past when Christmas was especially significant to you. Examine what made the holiday so pleasant. Then work to recapture that spirit for this year's holiday.
Carols. Don't become so busy that you don't have time to hear and sing Christmas carols. Enhance your holiday by listening to Christmas music. Take advantage of the many concerts offered during this time of year. Music soothes the soul and calms the spirit.
Decide. Make a decision on how much you will spend on the holiday, and stick to it. Prepare a realistic holiday budget, and stick to it.
Encourage. Offer words of appreciation and encouragement to store clerks. Remember that the holiday season is especially stressful for them as they deal with all sorts of persons, some of them very irritable. Let store clerks be happier because you were the customer who spoke a word of encouragement.
Friends. The holiday is the time to be with friends - people whom you love and respect and, in turn, who love and respect you. Your 'family' can be blood relatives as well as good, trusted friends. Make time to enjoy the company of people whom you enjoy. They are your 'family'.
Good. Do good works and encourage those around you to do good as well. The bible tells us to be considerate of others in order to stir up love and good works. (Hebrews 10:24)
Heart. Develop a generous heart. The holiday is an excellent time to accelerate this process. The poet Robert Burns noted The heart generous and kind most resembles God.
Insulate. As much as possible, insulate yourself from holiday activities which simply drain you, and which you do not enjoy. Creating a richer and more meaningful holiday may mean saying no to some people and some involvements. Give yourself permission to do this.
Joy. As you move through the holiday season be mindful of these words from John Greenleaf Whittier The joy that you give others is the joy that comes back to you.
Kindness. One way to make the world a better place is to be a little kinder than is necessary. Be kind and promote kindness. An excellent example comes from a father who was teaching his 16-year-old daughter how to drive. The teen motioned another driver to go ahead of her, which the motorist did without bothering to acknowledge the girl's courtesy. I'll never do that again! she exclaimed in disgust. Yes, you will, said her father. Kindness and courtesy isn't done because one expects acknowledgement, he emphasized. You do it because it's the right thing to do.
Love. Make an effort to reach out and touch, with love, everyone you encounter during the holiday. The moment you have in your heart this extraordinary thing called love, and feel the depth, the delight, the ecstasy of it, you will discover that for you the world is transformed, observed J. Krishnamurti.
Mercy. There are too many people who are short on the quality of mercy. They lack the ability or desire to show kindness, helpfulness, courtesy. In the busy holiday season don't forget to be a person of mercy. Through the prophet Hosea, God declares I desire mercy and not sacrifice. (Hosea 6:6)
Nourish others. If the holiday is a time of great stress for you, consider reaching out and nourishing others. Author Wane Dyer, PhD, reminds Nothing cures the soul faster than helping people who are truly in need of help. Hospitals, nursing homes, shelters and orphanages are filled with people who are lonely, sad or separated from their families. Just stopping in for an hour to talk and listen will brighten their day - and yours.
Observe children. Watch them carefully during the holiday season. Joy, happiness and laughter come easily to children. Observing them can help you recapture childhood exuberance.
Peace. This is a season of peace and goodwill toward all. Do your part to make the planet more peaceful by thinking peace, speaking peace and acting peacefully. Let the hope of peace be an important part of your thinking and living. A good example of someone who does this is Colin Powell, Secretary of State under George W. Bush. When he was a General and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Washington, DC, he wrote a letter responding to a classroom of children's many questions. His succinct answer provides a glimpse into the life and mind of this statesman: In response to most of your questions, I can drive a tank, have been scared, like to read, travel frequently, eat snacks, have a family, smile often, sometimes get angry, love pizza, have attended many schools...Have eaten at the White House, and have very little spare time. There are female generals; my boss is the Secretary of Defense, and my wish is for a peaceful earth...
Quiet. Make some time, daily if possible, during the holiday to be alone and in silence. Use those moments to pray, meditate, reflect. A few quiet moments will recharge your batteries.
Recognize. The holiday season is a good time to reflect on this wisdom from writer Frederick Koenig: We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.
Strangers. Let the generosity of your heart and spirit extend to some people you don't know well or don't know at all. The bible reminds us: Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing we have unwittingly entertained angels. (Hebrews 13:2)
Tradition. Don't be a slave to tradition. Rethink traditional gift-giving, advises Dr. Dyer. Going into debt is not what the holidays should be about. If the pleasure of exchanging gifts threatens to turn into the pain of payments you can't afford, agree with friends and family members to limit how much you'll spend. Instead of a display of extravagance, make gift-giving an exercise in creativity. A photograph, a poem or a small family heirloom is a truly personal gift that conveys more love and caring that a costly item from a shop.
Understanding. Use the holiday to do some work on your inner self. Cultivate a greater ability to be understanding especially of people whose lifestyles or personalities you do not appreciate. Drop the judgment. Seek to be more understanding, accepting and loving.
Vision. Allow the holiday to expand your vision so that you clearly see the way things ought to be: people at peace with each other; people treating each other kindly, lovingly and generously. Helen Keller wrote: Worse than not having sight is having no vision.
Words. Choose and speak your words carefully. Cold words freeze people, and hot words scorch them, and bitter words make them bitter, and wrathful words make them wrathful, noted Blaise Pascal. Kind words... soothe, and quiet, and comfort the hearer.
Xs and Os. Place these at the bottom of every holiday card you send out. People never receive enough expressions of love and affection. Your Xs and Os will be sunshine to their spirits.
Yield. Let the holiday be a time when you drop all expectations and demands to have it your way or to do it your way. Be flexible, yielding and accommodating of other's wishes, desires and needs. This will reduce holiday stress considerably.
Zero in on what is the best way for you to celebrate the holiday. If that means changing traditions, spending less, or volunteering more, then do it. You know better than anyone how to make your holiday a blessing rather than a burden.